Bitcoin price: Former PayPal CEO says why he thinks bitcoin is a SCAM | City & Business | Finance

The founding PayPal CEO believes there is “no store value” in bitcoin and it should “not be accepted as a means of payment” and has no intrinsic value.

Writing in Recode, Mr Harris said: “Okay, I’ll say it: Bitcoin is a scam.

“In my opinion, it’s a colossal pump-and-dump scheme, the likes of which the world has never seen.

“In a pump-and-dump game, promoters “pump” up the price of a security creating a speculative frenzy, then “dump” some of their holdings at artificially high prices.

“And some cryptocurrencies are pure frauds.”

Mr Harris explained his reasoning and said bitcoin cannot be accepted as a means of payment. He told CNBC: “Even in emerging markets, they might as well use dollars, euros or existing currencies if the local currency is subject to hyperinflation.”

But the businessman admitted there is “a lot” about bitcoin that is “not a scam”.

He added: “But yes, everyone is drinking the kool-aid. Just a couple of days ago somebody…